The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a blood pressure cuff apparatus adapted for use on a patient's forearm, and a system comprising the blood pressure cuff apparatus.
Conventional non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitoring systems generally inflate a pressure cuff above the patient's systolic pressure and measure oscillations in the cuff as the cuff is deflated. The pressure cuff is wrapped around the patient's upper arm and secured thereto with a fastening mechanism such as, for example, a hook and loop fastening mechanism. After wrapping and securing the pressure cuff, a cuff bladder is inflated with air to apply a variable amount of pressure. In order to maximize the precision with which a NIBP monitoring system estimates a given patient's blood pressure, the pressure cuff must be properly sized relative to the patient's upper atm.
Conventional pressure cuffs and cuff bladders each comprise length and width dimensions that define a generally rectangular shape. The pressure cuffs are sized by selecting length and width cuff bladder dimensions in proportion to a target patient's upper arm circumference. One problem is that the upper arm circumference of an obese patient becomes so large that it is difficult to properly fit. More precisely, in order to maintain the desired proportionality, the width of the pressure cuff becomes so large that it extends from the upper arm beyond the patient's elbow. When a pressure cuff is applied in this manner, the accuracy of the resultant blood pressure estimate is potentially greatly diminished. Another problem is that subcutaneous adipose tissue in the upper arm of an obese patient can interfere with NIBP measurements thereby potentially introducing a source of error.